The Lone Wolf
by Silvermist884
Summary: Jaeger, orphaned at a young age, becomes surly and distrustful of his own kind. But when he meets a female dispersal wolf, like himself, conflicting emotions rise within him and for the first time, he experiences lonliness and a longing for family.
1. Memories

**A/N: This is my second fanfiction :) I hope to continue it for five or so chapters, maybe more  
Rated for some violence**

**Diclaimer: I don't own Wolfquest, but I do own these characters**

* * *

Scattered memories.

That's all I have left of my family, of being in a pack. The type of memories that you begin to question if they actually existed, or if your mind just created them out of longing.

Do I really remember the warmth of my mother's fur?

I think I remember the riverside den among the pile of boulders. I remember scuffling around with my one brother and three sisters. I remember waiting eagerly for my father to come home, watching in awe as he dragged behind him the remains of an elk. I remember my mother whispering the tales of great wolves at night, of mighty warriors who took down a bull elk or grizzly all by themselves.

…Or do I?

One memory does stand out among all others; one that I am almost sure is true. Painted sharp and clear in my mind, it is one I will remember forever.

_It was a late autumn evening. The sun was just setting, its rays leaving a scarlet streak across the clouds. The sky seemed to be filled with blood; looking back, I thought that this may have been an omen of what was to come. At the time, however, I just thought it was beautiful._

_My parents were rounding up my siblings, ushering them back into the den, when I first caught the strange scent. I knew at once that my mother and father had detected it as well. Their fur started to bristle, and low growls issued from their throats. All of us pups were frightened. Quickly, now, we ran into the den._

_But I was curious as well. I poked my head out, watching. The second sign of danger came when lean shadows could be seen, darting towards our home. There were many, at least fifteen. They spread out in a circle around the den, their eyes glinting strangely in the darkness._

_Finally, one stepped forward into a circle of moonlight. It was a wolf, I realized. Naively, I automatically relaxed. These were of my own kind. Yet an urgent message still pricked at the back of my brain. _

_The wolf padded closer to my parents. Suddenly I noticed how large he was, and that his fangs were bared. My father stepped forward to confront him, tail held in a warning positioning. "What do you want, Matwau?" he growled._

_The large wolf chuckled, but his eyes were hard. "Not very welcoming, are you?" his voice sounded like a snarl. "But I want what any alpha wants for his pack – more territory."_

"_Our answer remains the same." My father growled firmly. "Very well." Matwau shifted slightly. "Then we have no choice." His tone turned ugly. "Attack!"_

_In a matter of seconds, wolf after wolf flooded the peaceful little hollow. I lost sight of my parents through the mass of bodies, but I heard yelps. Terrified, I turned tail and rammed into a tiny hole within the den. Too panicked to care about injuring myself, I squeezed into the too-small space and wiggled forward until I was barely able to breathe, but out of sight. And that meant I was safe._

_My littermates, bewildered and left out in the open space of the den, suddenly cowered as two burly wolves forced themselves in and grabbed them by their scruffs. They were all dragged out – except for me._

_I waited, heart pounding in the sudden hush. Then, two words cracked out among the dead air. "Kill them."_

_I shut my eyes tight, flattening my ears to my skull. But I could still hear the agonizing squeals of my siblings. Then, again, silence._

_This silence stretched on for a long time. I remained, cramped and shocked, in my hiding spot as the moon rose to its peak. Finally, I slowly maneuvered my way out. Stepping lightly, I slipped out of the den and hurried away. _

_I was lucky, I suppose, for the cover of darkness. My jet-black fur blended in and kept my hidden from any stragglers from Matwau's pack…and in the night, I was unable to see the limp bodies of my family._

And so I became an orphan. I was extremely lucky to survive on my own so young. I got by – but just barely. Forced to learn everything myself, I grew to be surly and aggressive. There was only one thing that I was completely fearful of, and that was wolves. But I didn't admit it, even to myself.

I guess you could call me a dispersal wolf – one who has left their pack to find a mate. But the term only loosely referred to me. I had not left my pack by choice, nor did I have any impulse to find a mate.

I preferred a different term. And so I, Jaeger, came to call myself the lone wolf.

* * *

**The name Matwau means "enemy" in Native American. I also found that the name Jaeger means "hunter", but I didn't pick it for the meaning; I just liked the name ;)  
Oh, and the story does become brighter in a couple chapters**


	2. Early Milestones

**A/N: Like I said in this first chapter, this story does become brighter in later chapters...this is not one of those chapters.**

**Disclaimer: This is based on the game WolfQuest, which I do not own.**

* * *

So far, the passing of my life has been marked by vague milestones. I feel no pride at my accomplishments, and there is no one around to feel proud for me.

I was so lost the first few days of my independence. I was shocked, lonely, scared. I struggled on for days, alone, unsure of what to do or how to survive. My fur became torn, my breathing ragged, my pads ripped, and my eyes dull. Within several days my ribs were outlined sharply, and my throat was parched with thirst.

It was pure luck that I found a puddle of water by the end of the second day. Any longer without it, and I would've died. Feebly gulping down mouthfuls, I became aware of a stale stench that raised the fur on the back of my neck. Following my nose, I staggered over to the limp body of an hour-old rabbit.

I wasn't able to tell at the time, but it had died of old age. Luck was still on my side…if you can call being barely able to live after losing your family luck. I wouldn't have cared at the time, being as hungry as I was, but the scrawny piece of prey was relatively safe to eat.

And so luck marked my first milestone – surviving the first several days, and finding food and water on my own.

I regained some of my strength, and slowly became aware that I would need to learn to hunt on my own if I was to continue living…though I wasn't sure that I _did_ want to live. I was numbly following the passed-down instinct for survival.

Though clumsy at first, I soon became efficient at hunting hares. They kept me alive as I grew past my first moon of independence.

Water was more difficult to find, but I soon became honed to the cooler, clearer smell that washed off the surface of a pond or stream. If I found a big enough body of it, I would stay there for several days and hunt around the perimeter.

So marked my second milestone – survival using instinct.

At first, I avoided all forms of life except for the small prey that I hunted. As I grew stronger and larger, however, I became bolder.

And as the numbness slowly faded away, I also became angrier. Angry at my own kind. Angry at life.

This anger was often expressed simply as aggressive surliness. Detachment from everything. But not always.

Leaving behind the body of a finished rabbit one day, I became aware of a coyote slinking over to scavenge the remains. This had happened before; I didn't usually care. It had only ever been a problem when I was smaller, and chased away from my meal. But this time, the sight of the wolf-like animal evoked a wild rage within me.

I was wary of other wolves, but this smaller canine seemed like a suitable replacement to target my fury at. My eyes blazing with fierce light, I sprang upon the defenseless creature without warning.

I was not yet full grown, but the coyote stood no chance against my wrath. Tearing viciously into its flesh, the life dimmed from the weakening body.

As quickly as I had attacked, I leapt away and continued on as if nothing had happened, leaving the limp heap of fur behind.

My third milestone – killing a coyote. My transition from defender to attacker.

I became over confident with my fighting abilities after that first kill. Several days later, I came across a cow elk carcass. They had become more frequent lately, and were a pleasing treat. This particular one, however, was guarded by 600 solid pounds of pure muscle in the form of a male grizzly bear.

I had seldom encountered these giant creatures before, but I ignorantly sprang forward, jaws stretched wide and teeth bared. My fangs closed in on its neck, but had barely sunken in before I was swatted aside. My head was cracked against the ground, and I was unable to move for a moment.

The bear roared and lumbered over, claws ripping down my side. I yelped and scrambled up too late, flying another three yards away. This time I barely took time to catch my breath before pelting away. I ran on until I was far away, then collapsed on my side. The wound wasn't deep, but it was painful. It was a struggle to hunt for many more days after.

And so I earned my fourth milestone, and an important lesson – There is no room for mistakes in the wild.

These milestones marked the months of my youth, before I was fully grown. I was lucky to survive, I know.

But sometimes I wish that I hadn't.

* * *

**I was planning on including his later milestones in this chap., but I felt that it would make it too long. The third chapter will be about that instead, though I'm not sure if I'm going to use the same format. Either way, the fourth chap. should be when the plot starts coming into play.**

**_Reviews are appreciated!!_ I'm glad to see that some people are taking an interest in this story, and I know WolfQuest isn't an overly active topic, but even just one review would make me happy. **


End file.
